WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama’s strategy to defeat an Islamist terror army known as the Islamic State has drawn optimism from Middle-Eastern Christians as a much-needed first step to save their people and other religious sects from genocide.

Bishop Angaelos, Pope Tawadros II of the Coptic Orthodox Church’s personal representative, said he was encouraged by the patriarchs’ 40-minute personal meeting with the president on Thursday.

“It was a very good meeting. It was thoughtful; it was, I felt, genuine,” he told the Register. “The president sat, thought, listened and shared his views.”

He said the Christian leaders were able to give the president a different perspective than the information given to him through his analysts and advisers.

“To hear about the plight of the Christians, from Christian leaders, from the shepherds on the ground, I think, was very important,” said the Coptic Pope’s representative, who attended the meeting. “I think he seemed to take that on board, absorb it and react to it.”

The meeting took place the day after Obama addressed the nation from the White House and laid out the four prongs of his strategy to take down the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL.

“Our objective is clear: We will degrade, and ultimately destroy, ISIL through a comprehensive and sustained counterterrorism strategy,” he said.

The president announced the United States would begin a “systematic campaign of airstrikes” to attack Islamic State forces in tandem with Iraqi ground counteroffensives. Second, he said the U.S. would increase “support to forces fighting these terrorists on the ground,” including the Kurds, Iraqi forces (including Sunni National Guard units) and Syrian opposition forces, which he called the “best counterweight to extremists.”

Obama stopped short of calling for Syrian President Bashar Assad’s unconditional ouster. He limited his remarks to saying that the U.S. cannot rely on Assad and must support Syrian opposition while pursuing a lasting political solution to stop the violence.

Third, the president pledged the United States’ participation to engage in a broad array of counterterrorism operations and said he would chair a meeting of the U.N. Security Council to mobilize international support around the effort.

Fourth, Obama said the U.S. would provide humanitarian assistance to the Islamic State’s victims, including Sunni and Shiite Muslims, Christians and other minorities under threat.

“We cannot allow these communities to be driven from their ancient homelands,” Obama said, adding that the United States would be joined by “a broad coalition of partners.”

“Already, allies are flying planes with us over Iraq; sending arms and assistance to Iraqi security forces and the Syrian opposition; sharing intelligence; and providing billions of dollars in humanitarian aid,” he said.

 

A Good First Step

Islamic State forces currently control a third of Syria and a third of Iraq. The challenges are formidable: CNN reported that CIA analysts believe the Islamic State can muster 20,000-31,500 foot soldiers in its terrorist army.

But Obama’s measures represent a positive development, according to Andrew Doran, executive director of the newly formed advocacy group In Defense of Christians, which held its first summit Sept. 9-11, when Obama made his announcement and met with the patriarchs.

“We think there was perhaps too much deliberation in forming this response,” he said. “But these were steps in the right direction, including the use of force to stop this very grave threat to the Christians of the Middle East and all people of the region. This is a threat to Muslims as much as to Christians and Yazidis.

However, Joseph Hakim, a Lebanese native and president of the International Christian Union, said that Obama’s previous track record on Middle-Eastern Christians did not give him much hope that the president would follow through.

“I hope he’s going to do the right thing,” Hakim said.

“If he is serious for immediate aid, it is very simple,” he added, pointing out that $6 million for winterized tents and tens of thousands of dollars in ready-to-eat meals are needed now.

But Hakim added, “Without troops on the ground, I don’t think we’re going to solve a thing.”

Juliana Taimoorazy, president of the Iraqi Christian Relief Council, said that efforts should be made to arm the minorities to protect themselves and create a safe zone to protect them, as was done for the Kurds in 1991.

“But the immediate urgent need is aid. Aid is not getting there,” she said.

Taimoorazy said her organization is in touch with Christians and others who are pleading for tents, food, diapers and desperately needed medications, as some are dying of such conditions as heart disease and diabetes for lack of medicine.

She said that internally displaced persons in Kurdistan have been told they have one month to leave the Kurdish schools they’ve been living in because the school year needs to start.

“Where are these people going to go?” she asked. “It is a complete human tragedy. The U.N. keeps talking about setting up camps, but they don’t even have a location yet.”

They’ve been trying to help raise $6.5 million to provide winterized tents, complete with heaters and blankets, to shelter IDPs as soon as possible.

“Winter is upon these people; and in the far northern part of Iraq near Turkey, it is already there,” she said.

 

Humanitarian Aid

Bishop Angaelos said the patriarchs’ requests have consisted in asking the international community to provide immediate humanitarian aid to those affected and action to “safeguard areas for people to continue to live their lives in their natural settings,” but if that is not possible, then to guarantee safe avenues out of the region.

Responding to the president’s speech on the Islamic State, Bishop Angaelos said, “The people there — and we’re not talking about just Christians, but Yazidis and other minorities — need to be safeguarded somehow.”

He added, “I’m not one to advise on how, but I think we owe them that their lives in that area should be safe and sane.”

Peter Jesserer Smith is the Register’s Washington correspondent.